The author devotes a lot of space to describing the lavish,
intricate details of the feast, including the guests, their clothing,
and the hall itself. The knights and ladies of Arthur’s court are
full of vitality and joy, resembling the New Year that they celebrate.
The poet describes them as “fair folk in their first age,” and he
uses words like fresh, lovely, comely, young, and mirthful to describe
them (54). Later, the Green Knight echoes
these descriptions but exaggerates them, calling Arthur and his
knights “beardless children” (280). These
descriptions of Arthur’s courtiers as children in their “first age”
implicitly compare the court to humankind in its “first age,” before
the Fall in the Garden of Eden. The emphasis on the court’s youth
and lack of experience suggests that these youthful people might
be capable of failure, error, bad judgment, and sinfulness, just as
Adam and Eve were.
The poet’s description of Queen Guinevere sitting on
her dais, surrounded by exotic tapestries and jewels, suggests that
the queen herself is first and foremost a beautiful object. The
fact that Guinevere sits surrounded by tapestries from the far reaches
of the earth supports the poet’s hyperbolic insistence that Guinevere’s
beauty surpasses that of all women in the world. The poet does not
touch on the moral or ethical aspects of Guinevere’s character—whether her
exceptional body hides an ugly soul or enshrines a pure one remains
for the reader to decide. However, any medieval reader would recognize
Guinevere’s youthful beauty as the very thing that will later bring
about the fall of Camelot: she is destined to betray her husband
with Lancelot.
The Green Knight provides a less ambivalent commentary
on Arthur and his courtiers by branding them inexperienced children
in need of testing. At the same time, the Green Knight’s own character remains
ambiguous, so we don’t know whether or not we can trust his judgment.
The knight’s green costume and the holly bob he holds in one hand
symbolize nature and fertility, but his costume is also ornamented
with gold and he carries an axe, symbols of artifice and civilization.
The Green Knight represents both the artificial and the natural
worlds, and he seems to be a superhuman as well as a supernatural
figure. These implications are confirmed when the Green Knight survives
decapitation, showing himself to have the power of resurrection.
Gawain’s placement at the high table and his blood ties
with Arthur characterize him as someone who maintains a high status among
the knights of the Round Table. Yet, when Gawain steps forth to
accept the Green Knight’s challenge, he claims he is the weakest
of Arthur’s knights. Again, the author refuses to indicate whether
Gawain’s self-deprecation stems from a real sense of his own inadequacy
or whether it hides a kind of boastful knowledge of his own knightly
stature. Many scholars of medieval chivalry believe Gawain’s behavior
in this scene accords with the rules of knightly courtesy, but the
poem gives us no commentary on Gawain’s motivations at this crucial
plot juncture.
Although the Green Knight refers to his agreement with
Gawain as a “game,” suggesting that the challenge is no different
from any of the other games played by Arthur’s court, the Green
Knight words his challenge like a legal contract. He refers to the
agreement as a “covenant” and mentions dues, and he makes Gawain
repeat the terms multiple times. The Green Knight’s language foreshadows the
fact that the his game will have serious ethical implications; it will
test not only Gawain’s bravery, but also his honesty and integrity.
